Planning, Budgeting and Rolling Forecasts Master Class

Economist magazine reports that 80% of companies in the UK are unhappy with their planning and budgeting systems. Managers say that planning takes too long and costs too much. They say that annual budgeting doesn’t work in today’srapidly changing world. And in some organisations, key parts of the management system aren’t linked together: strategy, budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement, management reporting, incentive compensation and corporate governance, all take place in separate parts of the business.

For organizations operating in a world of continuous change, traditional budgeting has become out of date. Today,managers are turning to rolling forecasts to inspire and leadtheir organisations to superior performance.

Rolling forecasts offer greater visibility into future operating performance. Unlike budgets, they reflect the fact thatoperations don’t switch off at year-end. Making goodbusiness projections isn’t as hard as it sounds. Implemented correctly, rolling forecasting can be the single most valuable tool to identifying where changes need to be made in order to maximize profitability and minimize losses. Well-establishedforecasting techniques can take some of the guesswork outof operational decision making and put the focus back on optimizing profitability, rather than putting out fires.

This high value practical workshop will:

Illustrate the principles of business planning and rolling forecasts with examples and case studies drawn from a variety of industries

Identify the process for implementing rolling forecasts in your business

Equip you with the best practice techniques for designing an integrated business planning and rolling forecast process

The following key themes will be addressed in depth with Real Examples and Case Studies:

Strategic Planning Essentials

External Analysis

Internal Analysis

Developing Strategy in your organizations

Implementing Strategy Successfully in the Fast Changing World

Forecasting Models

Data Warehouses and Strategic Sales Analysis

Designing Rolling Forecast Process

Why Change from Traditional Budgeting to Rolling Forecast?

Motivating the change to Rolling Forecast

Working with Rolling Forecasts in Management Meetings

The Board Wants a Target

Organizations and Systems

Use the Right Techniques

Performance Measurement, Scorecards and Dashboards

World Class Reporting

The impact of Rolling Forecast on People

Attendee Profile

Rolling Forecasts and Budgeting Master Class is designed for all general managers, department heads and financial specialists who want to be familiar with leading edge planning, budgeting and forecasting techniques in today’s difficult business environment. They include, but are not limited to:

Chief Executive Officers

Chief Financial Officers

Managing Directors

General Managers

Managers

Financial Accountants & Controllers

Management Accountants

Finance Directors & Managers

Business Analysts & Managers

Forecasting Analysts

Budgeting Directors and Managers

Trainer Profile

The trainer is well recognised as a leading world class expert in the areas of business strategy, financial management, budgeting, forecasting and reporting. He has presented his workshop onRolling Forecasts for many years in LondonUK and run programs in Dubai, Kuwait andBahrain.

He is a visiting lecturer and program director at the Graduate School of Business at the University of the Witwatersrand, a top Africa business school. He has also run courses for the ManchesterBusinessSchool and HenleyManagementCollege in UK, and four other business schools in Africa. He previously lectured for many years on the Continuing Professional Education programme of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, and was a keynote speaker at the International Congress of Accountants in Africa in 2008.

The trainer has authored four books ‘How business strategy works in practice” (2005), “Make your budget work” (2007),

“Managing with rolling forecasts” (2008) and “Strategy in action.”(2009). His book on rolling forecasts is used byorganisations in the USA, the UK, Mexico, Holland, Dubai, HongKong, Indonesia and South Africa.

He has presented workshops on management planning and control systems for companies in many industries including energy, retailing, financial services and mining. Leading organisations he has worked with in the last two years include Anglo American, British Petroleum, Engen Petroleum, ESKOM,Foschini, Imperial Transport Group, First National Bank, Sanlam,Nedbank, Santam,Telkom, Nampaak, Woolworths – and publicsector bodies including the South African Revenue Service, theNamibian Port Authority and the Reserve Bank of Botswana.